Columbans Celebrate the Release of the Clean Power Plan, Urge State Leaders to Act

For Immediate Release
August 3, 2015
Contact: Susan Gunn, Communications and Outreach Associate
Office: 202-635-5812, Cell: 202-680-0590, Email: sgunn@columban.org

WASHINGTON, DC -   Columban missionaries welcome and celebrate the release of the Obama Administration's highly anticipated Clean Power Plan, which will require states to drastically limit carbon pollution emitted by power plants.

Scott Wright, Director of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, said: “Since the Clean Power Plan was first announced, Columbans have been actively engaging with the faith community, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Columban missionaries serving the poor in Asia, Oceania, South America, Europe, and the United States. We believe the Clean Power Plan will promote energy alternatives that will safeguard the health of all people and protect God's creation.

In his Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si, Pope Francis warns us about inaction, and calls us to consider the impact of environmental degradation on the least among us saying, ‘The climate is a common good, belonging to and meant for all' (#24). It is our responsibility, as one of the earth's largest polluters, to care for our common home, and recognize the impact our actions have on the most marginalized among us.

Columbans witness daily the impact of extreme weather events, sea level rise, and pollution on communities that they serve. We hope that state officials respond to the Clean Power Plan by putting forth robust standards to conserve and protect God's earth and the poor from further suffering caused by vast pollution.”

The Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach is the advocacy office for the Missionary Society of St. Columban. The Center services as the line of communication between Columban missionaries serving in 15 countries around the world and policy makers in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to work towards a more just, peaceful, and environmentally sustainable world by engaging in the political process guided by our Catholic faith and the Gospel.

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